Ars Poetica BY ARCHIBALD MACLEISH A poem should

Ars Poetica BY ARCHIBALD MACLEISH A poem should be palpable and mute As a globed fruit, Dumb As old medallions to the thumb, Silent as the sleeve-worn stone Of casement ledges where the moss has grown— A poem should be wordless As the flight of birds. *

A poem should be motionless in time As the moon climbs, Leaving, as the moon releases Twig by twig the night-entangled trees, Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves, Memory by memory the mind— A poem should be motionless in time As the moon climbs.

A poem should be equal to: Not true. For all the history of grief An empty doorway and a maple leaf. For love The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea— A poem should not mean But be.

A poem that explains the “art of poetry. ” The Roman lyric poet Horace’s Ars Poetica is an early example, and the foundation for the tradition. In his work Horace discusses the function of poetry, which, according to him should delight and instruct audiences. Simile is used to compare poetry to «a globed fruit» - we can feel a fruit since we can hold it in our hands. But the fruit has a hard outer surface which makes it difficult to get inside. in a globe, According to the speaker, that's how a poem should read as well. Poetry should be silent, that is to say, it should not make a point explicitly, but it should convey an effect similar to that of old medallions giving a sense of eternal quality of arts. The "old medallions" remind us of our history. Poetry does not need to say much to convey a thought or a feeling. The use of the word moss refers to the long history of poetry and its resistance to time. The flight of birds refer to the way poetry is unrestrained conveying a sense of limitless expressions.

A poem cannot be limited to a certain place. When we read it, we are so caught up/lost in the experience created that we are unconscious of the passage of time. Earth is portrayed in a state of tangle – i. e. complication. We need poetry to give us a different experience.

• A poem is an experience. It is not a statement. Poetry is expressed through images and symbols. Poetry responds to emotions in a unique way, conveying this experience through imageries, symbols etc. An empty doorway symbolises loneliness, but also doorway image brings to mind the transition to a different location –i. e. The beginning of a new stage in life. Leaning grasses suggests a summer field, and two lights might be a metaphor for two lovers who are overlooking the ocean, an image that creates the experience of love. • A poem is concerned with experience, not with propositional statements. When it is successful, it is equal to the experience it creates. The reader responds to it by imaginatively living that experience, not by judging the content of the poem as right or wrong, true or false. To create such experience, the poem must rely on images and symbols.

• According to «Ars Poetica» by Archibald Mac. Leish, «A poem should not mean/But Be» . How would you relate this assertion to Williams’ «The Red Wheelbarrow» , and Tennyson’s «The Eagle» ? • Compare and contrast Mac. Leish’s and Housman’s views of poetry.